Part of a Package for a Superstar
This is the trade possibility that is most exciting to me, although the likelihood of it is most slim.
In my mind, the idea of continuing to build with only youth while moving away from all vets is both silly and a losing proposition. Phoenix needs to get star players onto the roster who have experience, who are proven winners, who are highly skilled, and hopefully ultra-competitive.
Replacing Chriss’ apparent lack of competitiveness and propensity to complain with someone who will work their butt off on every single play and hates losing more than not getting a foul called, would be ideal.
Who that would be, at the moment, I can only guess, and whoever I say will probably garner a lot of push back for one reason or another.
Regardless, Ryan McDonough has said for several years that he is in the market for a young star, and should be no less in that market this year than in the past. Thus, using a package of picks and players – that must include Marquese Chriss – should be a continued goal of McDonough’s.
At point guard, Dennis Schroeder could be a possibility. With the recent rumors that the Clippers have been interested in trading DeAndre Jordan, maybe the Suns could be the team to sneak in and snag him.
Otherwise, I’m not sure if there are any other stars of any position who might be available right now for Phoenix to pursue. The beauty about the curse of the NBA’s current culture of players demanding trades and teams cowering to those player’s ever desire is that we don’t know who might be available in the near future, even this season, that the Suns can jump at and grab.
Of course, if there is a possibility looming on the horizon of such an opportunity, then holding onto Chriss for a bit longer would be ideal (by that I mean, no later than February).
Next: It's time to move on from Marquese Chriss before it's too late
A team like the Suns would could not only offer draft picks but a young player like Chriss would put them at a decided advantage over other teams. They just need to be finally willing to pull the trigger on such a move, and do so including Marquese Chriss as quickly as possible before his lack of growth destroys any, or all, trade value.